Choke – Chuck Palahniuk (Zadukha), Ukrainian Hardcover

Choke, presented in Ukrainian as Задуха, offers Chuck Palahniuk’s darkly comedic and disturbingly inventive look at guilt, dependency, and the lengths people go to feel alive. Viktor Mancini, a man burdened by his mother’s care in a mental institution and mounting financial pressures, devises a bizarre strategy to monetize sympathy: he pretends to choke in upscale restaurants. Rescuers, moved by his tale, write him checks—his bizarre method of survival.

As his life intertwines with addiction recovery programs and the shadows of his family’s history, Viktor’s fabrications begin to reveal unexpected truths. Palahniuk layers the story with dry humor, psychological insight, and striking social commentary—challenging our notions of authenticity, survival, and self-deception.
Мати Віктора Манчіні перебуває в лікарні для душевнохворих… він удає, ніби давиться їжею… співчуття перетворюється у виписані чеки… кумедна проза, схожа на мантру, віщує хаос із самого початку